


A dog named Fish

by MaplePaizley



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Domestic hamfam, Eliza doesn't always have to be the responsible one, First Pet, Fluff, Gen, Hamliza, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 14:36:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11671053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaplePaizley/pseuds/MaplePaizley
Summary: Eliza makes an impulse decision.





	A dog named Fish

**Author's Note:**

> Based on that really cute text chain on tumblr. Thanks for reading, it means a lot!

Alex leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes as he took a swig of the lukewarm coffee sitting on his desk. Eliza had taken the kids on an outing, and he had stayed behind to do some work. The house was unusually, blissfully silent, a more conducive environment for drafting the new state budget proposal than he was likely to come across for weeks. At least it was until his phone pinged loudly, scaring him so badly that he almost jumped out of his seat. Alex ran a hand through his hair agitatedly and made a mental note to cool it on the caffeine, as he picked up his phone to find a text from Eliza.

 

_Betsey <3_ : Babe, remember how we talked about getting the kids a pet?

 

Alex smiled at that. Eliza had had to do a lot of persuading- Alex had never really gotten the point of having an animal in the house- but eventually they had agreed that getting six-year-old Philip and four-year-old Angie some fish might be a valuable way to teach them some responsibility.

 

_Alexander_ : Yeah, are you guys doing that today?

 

_Betsey <3_ : Yessss we are! We just left the pet store :)

 

_Alexander_ : Great, so I’ll see you soon?

 

_Betsey <3_ : That’s the thing…I wanted to text to give you some warning.

 

_Alexander_ : ?

 

_Betsey <3: _I might have done something kind of dumb.

 

Alex felt his stomach drop. Between the two of them, Eliza was usually far more responsible. She made sure their kids were dressed, washed and fed, and that Alex was getting at least six hours of sleep a night. That didn’t mean that she couldn’t make stupid decisions occasionally when the urge hit her. In fact, likely because they didn’t happen very often, Eliza’s flights of fancy tended to be really _really_ kind of dumb.

 

_Alexander_ : Eliza, what did you do?

 

After a few minutes, Eliza texted a picture of a fluffy golden retriever puppy sitting on Philip’s lap. Pip was grinning a wide smile, squeezing his new friend with loving concentration. Angie was sitting next to him, tentatively petting the dog’s tail with wide eyes.

 

_Alexander_ : You did not.

 

_Betsey <3_ : He’s SO cute, and Pip fell in love with him, I couldn’t say no!

 

_Alexander_ : You were supposed to get a FISH.

_Betsey <3_ : We named him Fish.

 

_Alexander_ : Eliza.

 

_Betsey <3_ : So we’re gonna go pick up a leash and some toys, and then we’ll take Fish home.

 

_Alexander_ : I cannot believe you let our children name their first dog Fish.

 

_Alexander_ : Eliza are you seriously gonna stop responding?

 

_Alexander_ : Fish better be the cutest goddamn dog in the world.

 

About half an hour later her heard the front door opening and the telltale sounds of his children shrieking with joy and sharp little nails skidding on the hardwood floors.

 

“Pops!” Philip bellowed, even as Eliza scolded him about using his indoor voice. “We got a surprise!”

 

“What kind of surprise buddy?” Alex asked in an affectedly casual tone.

 

“Close your eyes” Philip ordered.

 

Alex heaved a mock long-suffering sigh, “Okay bossman Pip” he said, theatrically draping an arm across his eyes. “Can I know what the surprise is now?”

 

“Hold out your arms now”, Philip said with all of the authoritative confidence that only a six year old could muster. “But keep your eyes shut.”

 

Alex did what he was told, grinning despite himself when he felt a warm, frenetically wriggling mass being deposited in his arms. “Hello there”, he said, opening his eyes and gazing into the puppy’s soulful brown ones. Alex felt his heart melt a little, even as the dog tried to attack his tie with his needle-like teeth.

 

“Meet Fish”, Philip said proudly.

 

“Fish is…definitely a surprise”, Alex said, throwing a sideways glance to Eliza who beamed at him beatifically. “That’s an interesting name guys”, he said, shifting Fish in his arms to reach out and tousle Angie’s hair. “How did you come up with it?”

 

“Mama did it”, Angie chirped.

 

Alex raised an eyebrow at Eliza. “Mama named him?”

 

Philip nodded. “She said it would be…ironic”, he said, sounding out the new word carefully. He looked at Eliza to check that the word was right, grinning broadly when she nodded.

 

“She was right about that” Alex sighed.

 

“What does ‘ironic’ mean, Pops?” Philip asked, tugging on his curls.

 

Alex knelt down, stage whispering. “It’s when Mama makes fun of Pops, but in a cute way so he won’t be sad.”

 

“Mama likes to make fun of Pops” Angie smiled.

 

“Hey!” Eliza protested, placing her hands on her hips jokingly.

 

“She certainly does, Angel”, Alex grinned. “Lucky you, you look like her, so you can both get away with it.”

 

Angie giggled bashfully as Alex handed the dog back to Philip. “Why don’t you guys take Fish to the backyard?” he suggested. “Maybe you can teach him how to fetch.” Philip and Angie’s eyes both brightened, almost comically, as they raced to the back door, Fish in tow. Alex waited until he heard the door slam before turning to his wife, his arms crossed.

 

“I literally can’t believe you did this”, Alex grumbled.

 

Eliza shrugged. “They were gonna get a dog eventually, we might as well do it now.”

 

“I don’t remember us talking about them getting a dog ‘eventually’.”

 

Eliza kissed his nose playfully. “It was never going to be a debate you’d win, my love.”

 

Alex took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair exasperatedly. “Eliza, we haven’t talked about this at all. We’re not prepared. This isn’t what we planned.”

 

“If you want to play bad cop and tell Pip and Angie that they have to take the dog back, by all means be my guest.”

 

Alex glared at her, albeit rather unconvincingly. He was secure and happy in the breakdown of their relationships to their children; Mama was who his kids went to when they needed help with a project or were fighting with friends, the one who made them eat their vegetables and practice piano. Pops was the fun parent who suggested pizza for dinner and volunteered to show his kids’ classes around the White House. He didn’t do bad cop- Philip and Angie had him too wrapped around their cute little fingers. Eliza knew that too well, and was banking on it. He shook his head resignedly. His wife was so incredibly warm and soft-spoken that no one would ever guess, but Eliza had a gift for manipulating him, and subtly pushing his buttons to get her way. She didn’t use it very often, was very much into open communication and compromise in their relationship, but she was probably right in saying that the dog was an eventuality that he would have caved into in due course.

 

“I’m not taking care of it.”

 

“No one’s asking you to”, Eliza said calmly. “I saw the way you looked at him though.”

 

“He _is_ crazy cute”, Alex mumbled begrudgingly.

 

“And he’s a very sweet dog”, Eliza murmured thoughtfully. “He’ll be a good friend for Pip and Angie.” She pulled her hair up into a ponytail, making for the back door. “I’m gonna go make sure none of the three of them have died yet.”

 

“Don’t try to get me to like the dog!” Alex called after her.

 

“Don’t have to try!” She yelled back. Alex sighed as she shut the door behind her, pausing for a second before he kicked on his sneakers and followed her. He hated it when Eliza was right.


End file.
